How Close to the Property Line Can a Fence Be?

On the line, or inside it

• On the boundary: normally treated as a shared fence, which means shared say over it. Requires agreement with the neighbour.
• A few inches inside your line: the fence is unambiguously yours, you maintain it, you decide about it. You give up a few inches of yard.
• Over the line: an encroachment, even by an inch, and a problem that usually surfaces at sale when a survey is run.

Find the line properly

Property pins are often still in the ground at the corners, though years of landscaping can bury them. Your mortgage file may hold a survey. Where the boundary genuinely matters, and especially where a neighbour disagrees, a fresh survey costs far less than moving a built fence.

Setbacks are a separate rule

Boundary is one constraint; zoning setbacks, easements and corner sight-lines are others. A utility easement running along the back of a lot can restrict what may be built over it, and a fence across one may have to be removed at your cost if the utility needs access.

What we do

We build to the line you can evidence. If there is no survey and the neighbour is uncertain, we would rather set slightly inside your line than build something that has to come down later. This is practice, not legal advice.

Common follow-up questions

What if my neighbour’s fence is over my line?

Most people live with a few inches. It matters at sale, when a survey shows it. Raising it early and amicably is easier than raising it under a contract deadline.

Can I build a fence over a utility easement?

Sometimes, subject to the utility’s rules, and usually at the risk that it may have to be removed for access. Check before building, not after.

Do I need a survey to build a fence?

Not always. If the pins are findable and the neighbour agrees, that is often enough. If the line is disputed or the lot is irregular, a survey is cheap insurance.